Peter Gabriel
Biography
As the leader of Genesis in the early '70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. In his solo career, Gabriel was no less ambitious, but he was more subtle in his methods. With his first eponymous solo album in 1977, he began exploring darker, more cerebral territory, incorporating avant-garde, electronic, and worldbeat influences into his music. The record, as well as its two similarly titled successors, established Gabriel as a critically acclaimed cult artist, and with 1982's Security, he began to move into the mainstream; "Shock the Monkey" became his first Top 40 hit, paving the way for his multi-platinum breakthrough So in 1986. Accompanied by a series of groundbreaking videos and the number one single "Sledgehammer," So became a multi-platinum hit, and Gabriel became an international star. Instead of capitalizing on his sudden success, he began to explore other interests, including recording soundtracks and running his company Real World. By the time he returned to pop with 1992's Us, his mass audience had faded away and he spent the remainder of the '90s working on multimedia projects for Real World.
Following his departure from Genesis in 1976, Peter Gabriel began work on the first of three consecutive eponymously titled albums; each record was named Peter Gabriel, he said, as if they were editions of the same magazine. In 1977, his first solo album appeared and became a moderate success due to the single "Solsbury Hill." Another self-titled record followed in 1978, yet received comparatively weaker reviews. Gabriel's third eponymous album was his artistic breakthrough. Produced by Steve Lillywhite and released in 1980, the album established Gabriel as one of rock's most ambitious, innovative musicians, as well as one of its most political -- "Biko," a song about a murdered antiapartheid activist, became one of the biggest protest anthems of the '80s. "Games Without Frontiers," with its eerie chorus, nearly reached the Top 40.
In 1982, Gabriel released Security, which was an even bigger success, earning positive reviews and going gold on the strength of the startling video for "Shock the Monkey." Just as his solo career was taking off, Gabriel participated in a one-shot Genesis reunion in order to finance his WOMAD -- World of Music, Arts and Dance -- Festival. WOMAD was designed to bring various world musics and customs to a Western audience, and it soon turned into an annual event, and a live double album was released that year to commemorate the event. As Gabriel worked on his fifth album, he contributed the soundtrack to Alan Parker's 1984 film Birdy. His score was highly praised and it won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes that year. After founding Real World, Inc. -- a corporation devoted to developing bridges between technology and multiethnic arts -- in 1985, he completed his fifth album, So.
Released in 1986, So became Gabriel's commercial breakthrough, largely because his Stax homage "Sledgehammer" was blessed with an innovative video that combined stop-action animation with live action. So climbed to number two as "Sledgehammer" hit number one, with "Big Time" -- featuring a video very similar to "Sledgehammer" -- reaching the Top Ten and "In Your Eyes" hitting the Top 30. As So was riding high on the American and British charts, Gabriel co-headlined the first benefit tour for Amnesty International in 1986 with Sting and U2. Another Amnesty International Tour followed in 1988, and the following year, Gabriel released Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ, a collection of instrumentals used in Martin Scorsese's film. Passion was the furthest Gabriel delved into worldbeat, and the album was widely acclaimed, winning the Grammy Award in 1989 for Best New Age Performance. In 1990, he released the hits compilation Shaking the Tree.
Gabriel labored long on the pop-music follow-up to So, finally releasing Us in the spring of 1992. During the recording of Us, Gabriel went through a number of personal upheavals, including a painful divorce, and those tensions manifested themselves on Us, a much darker record than So. For various reasons, not the least of which was the fact that it was released six years after its predecessor, Us wasn't as commercially successful as So, despite positive reviews. Only one single, the "Sledgehammer" knockoff "Steam," reached the Top 40, and the album stalled at platinum sales. In 1993, Gabriel embarked on the most ambitious WOMAD tour to date, touring the United States with a roster including Crowded House, James, and Sinéad O'Connor, with whom he had an on-off romantic relationship. The following year, he released the double-disc Secret World Live, which went gold. Later in 1994, he released the CD-ROM Xplora, one of many projects he developed with Real World. For the next three years, Gabriel concentrated on developing more multimedia projects for the company. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Selected Discography

On The Air
1978

Peter Gabriel 1
1977
I think that if I could only have one album (other than a greatest hits or such boxed sets etc) to live with the rest of my life...I believe it would be Security.
|
||
Left out is his incredible support of so many artists all over the world. He is a truly generous man and deserves the Internationa l recognition he has earned unlike some other superstars we could mention.
|
||
i came upon genesis later in their career only to investigate their early stuff nursery cryme. was into fusion and bop jazz. seen peter gabriel at the capitol theater passaic nj 1977? for his first lp release. the lp with here comes the flood. hes up there wiyh bowie in my humble opinion
|
||
Gabriel has grown soft and old in his dotage. What he did in the 1970-80's was truly inspired and will stand with the best work in Rock History when it is taught 100 years from now. WOMAD, his work with two exceptional films- Birdy and Passion- and everything he did in Genesis and the next decade as he crawled from what would become the pathetic (but popular) corpse of that band, is magic.
|
||
Peter is amazing. He is really a genius. My first concert was a Peter Gabriel concert. It's a shame that WOMAD is no more, because it was a really inventive way to get all kinds of musicans together. It was the closest we will ever get to Woodstock, and now its gone.
|
||
Is the Greatest for me Is just Wonderfull
|
||
One of the things that makes Peter Gabriel so very dynamic to listen to is his time signatures. Take Solisbury Hill - 7/4 signature on the main music, with a totally different vocal. The musician's musician.
|
||
Sledgehammer is one of my favorite songs to kareoke to! I think I might try "Shock the Monkey" or "Digging in the Dirt" next!
|
||
PG truly is one of the best musicians, artists, vocalists EVER!! His music just moves me/touches me like no other artists'.
|
||
He was the leader of Genesis (the band where Phil Colins was). A nice song is "Don't Give up".
|
||
PG is a difficult voice to tune on.
His buddy SH guitar is easier for beginners to tune on. Voice is always kind of hard to tune on, unless you are the ultimate vocalist. |
||
everything this man touches is gold. i aspire to be like peter gabriel, all men should because he is what todays man is missing. i thank him for being such an incredible influence with his calm demeanor and stoic smile. listening to him gives me a sense of hope that everything will be fine and will work out in the end. THANKS AGAIN PG...
|
||
Peter Gabriel solo, what more needs saying, except, catch him with the Afro Celt Sound System on a CD that doubles as a DVD with him and others on 3 music videos.
|
||
His stuff still sounds good in 2009 - better than Genesis, by far !! Good thing he left the group, but what if .....????
|
||
i love in your eyes. that has been one of my favorite songs since i saw the movie say anything..
|
||
Very few artists can stir my emotions with music as PG can. Nobody is better.
|
||
His voice ,in the earlier years had that slight throaty rasp of urgency,much like Roger Waters.
|
||
Did Peter have the best voice of all the British classic rock singers? Maybe yes!
|
||
Not only is PG a great musician / writer. He now owns ,or partially owns SSL.Wish I could afford one.
|
||
Isn't this the guy who did the soundtrack to "one hour photo" it sounds alot like his style
|
||
He has a track on the WALL-E soundtrack, "Down to Earth." It is one of best tracks, methinks. Then again, I have an unhealthy obsession with that movie to begin with.
|
||
One great regret I have is that I didn't start listening to Genesis until after they toured for the 'Lamb'. And when I saw them in concert P.G. was gone.
At least P.G. kept on adding his unique perspective to the music world. However I have to wonder what could have been had they stayed together. |
||
A musical legend.It kind of grew on me,thru my siblings that STEAM is aclassic...
|
||
For the last 40 or so years when anyone would ask me what my religious affiliation was.
I would simply state, Peter Gabriel, and leave it at that. |
||
PG is not a transcendent a l figure, however, he may just be the reincarnatio n of W.A. Mozart or da Vinci.
|
||
peter garbiel is one of my few living heros. he is courageous, heart-full, and humble...all at the same time. he is an amazing artist, and an even beter person. If you have not been touched by his music yet - give it a try! Peter, if you see this - godspeed to you!
|
||
I can't overstate his impact on the music industry. He has been influential since day one, and continued to grow and evolve. From pop songs like Sledgehammer to deeper, darker themes like Darkness (and my favorite, Signal to Noise), he is an ARTIST who never stagnated or sold out. And perhaps most significant, he has been sincere. Four encores? Who does that?! :)
|
||
love him on the track with paula cole (i cant remember its name) would love to hear it now
|
||
I used to listen to Heartbeats radio in the 80s and I heard this music that I didn't knowuntil I was in my ATS bellydance class. It was awesome to dance to,now I want this cd for my collection.
|
||
I just discovered Peter Gabriel when I stumbled across a satelite tv channel airing one of his concerts. I didn't know he was the leader of Genesis, a group I really like. Gabriel is definitely a genius with his music, and I will be listening to him from now on.
|
||
AH! LOVE this music. First time I'd heard it I was sitting with a friend in my old chevy out at the ocean near Half Moon Bay, and he played Blood of Eden~ I almost began to cry.
|
| report abuse |










